About Lauren

Lauren Abney is a Business Strategist for AI at Google, where she collaborates with the company's largest clients and executives to transform businesses through AI-driven marketing and customer experiences. Her expertise in contemporary marketing strategies across Health, Beauty, Technology, and CPG industries has enabled her to guide transformational growth for numerous companies during her tenure as a Client Partner at Google.

Lauren's thought leadership extends beyond her work at Google. She co-hosts the insightful "Well/Behaved" podcast and serves as a trusted advisor to many brands focused on the technology, health, and wellness space. Her unique perspective blends cutting-edge AI knowledge, deep industry experience, and a passion for exploring the intersection of technology and consumer behavior.

About Jenny

Jenny Haggard leads Global Thought Leadership as part of the Business Brand Marketing Team at Spotify. She’s obsessed with all things culture, and she uses proprietary and partner data to create deeply human and culturally nuanced content and experiences that help marketers navigate the future. In her role, she analyzes trends, tests hypotheses, crafts content, builds GTM plans, and after 10 years at the company, is still trying to figure out how to turn on private mode while listening to her Guilty Pleasures playlist. She’s based in LA, and when she’s not squinting at data dashboards or wielding a pen, she enjoys spending time with her husband, making use of her Italian passport, and guiding others as a Certified Discernment Director.

Iconic numbers have been revered as a symbol of the best athletes of all time. But what if the people wearing those numbers don’t look like you?

Introducing Runner 321. The Lions Grand Prix award-winning campaign, launched on World Down Syndrome Day 2023, tells the story of adidas’ first sponsored athlete with Down Syndrome, Chris Nikic, and quickly sparked an online movement for inclusion across the world’s largest marathons.

We have invited Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, Chief Creative Officer at FCB Canada to share the campaign, the incredible response it got, how Runner 321 aligns with adidas’ Impossible is Nothing initiative, and FCB Canada’s long-standing support of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society.

About Nancy

Named by Adweek as one of Toronto’s Brand Stars shaping the city into the creative hub it is today and a Campaign US 40 over 40, Nancy has helped lead the creative resurgence of FCB– elevating its position to the 2021 Creative Network of the Year at the Cannes Lions, the most awarded agency at the One Show in 2020 and Adweek’s 2020 Global Agency of the Year. Her work has been presented to the UN twice and she also has the distinction of bringing home Canada’s first Integrated, Commerce, Strategy and Creative Data Cannes Lions.

In 2023, FCB Canada was named the #2 North American Agency of the Year by the Cannes Lions, and the Agency of the Year at both the Effies and WARC bringing home several Best of shows and the Cannes Grand Prix in Direct for adidas Runner 321. This year, her long-standing partnership with the Canadian Down syndrome Society was recognized with a coveted One Show Penta Pencil which awards agency/client partnerships that deliver creative excellence, another Canadian first.

Since joining FCB Canada eight years ago, the agency's creative work has been among the most celebrated and innovative in the industry, including its work for BMO/BMO Harris, adidas, Ontario Lottery and Gaming and the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. This thinking has helped make FCB Canada Media Innovation Agency of the year, two years in a row, Digital Agency of the Year for seven years and the most-awarded Canadian agency at Cannes for four years.

Beyond creating iconic campaigns, Nancy is an industry thought leader: She's served on several international juries including Jury presidencies at the Cannes Lions, Clios and D&AD as well as volunteering her time for industry panels, being on the ADCC advisory board and serving on school advisory boards for advertising students in Canada. 

Nobody wants to hear a brand speak. Perhaps unless you’re Nike. We want to hear from people. Social media is a place we go to be our authentic selves, to find human connections and authenticity. But in 2024, it’s also a place full of AI generated imagery, content and influencers.

We have invited a panel of digital and social media experts for an honest discussion of brands on social. Are they worried about AI blurring the lines between authentic and synthetic and putting people of social? What are they keeping an eye on right now? And what are their predictions for what’s to come? There’s a lot to uncover as we dive into the biggest social media trends.

• Who are nailing the trends right now?
• “I just came for the comments” – how brands can be part of the conversation?
• Engagement and Talkability - what are people responding to?
• The TikTok-ification of social: entertainment, video, and high-speed content
• Synthetic Influencers – creepy or cool?
• Could AI end up narrowing content diversity?
• What does authenticity and human connection look like in 2024?

About Stanley

Founder and Managing Director of The Attention Seeker, a creative agency based in Tāmaki Makaurau. A team of 16 and growing The Attention Seeker has built a huge presence across social media with well over a million followers across their brand and team. 

The internet has learnt our human gender bias. It’s a problem we created, and one we have the power to fix. And that’s exactly what DDB Group Aotearoa, FINCH and Team Heroine set out to do.

In a campaign that reached over 1 billion people globally, they started a movement to highlight and correct the inconsistency of searchable facts that disadvantages sportswomen.

Launched with a confronting film that showed what happens when a little girl asks the internet a question and is met with biased results, the campaign went on to earn 120+ pieces of media coverage including BBC, NBC, Fox News, Sky Sport and Forbes, and is now supported by over 50 global brands and the United Nations.

Gary Steel, Chief Creative Officer at DDB joins us at DDO2024 to share the powerful concept and strategy behind Correct the Internet, the real world change it affected, and just what can happen when we put the power of the internet to good use.

About Gary

Gary is the Chief Creative Officer of DDB New Zealand and over his 25-year career, he has worked on some of the world’s most celebrated global brands across Europe, Africa and Asia. Over this time the work he has helped create has been celebrated over 400 times across all the international advertising festivals.

During his time in Asia, Gary was voted as Singapore’s most influential Creative Director 4 years in a row and led TBWA\Singapore to be the Creative agency of the year across Southeast Asia in 2017 & 2018.

After his success in Asia Gary needed a new challenge and moved to Aotearoa to join DDB Group Aotearoa in 2019 and has now made the "land of the long white cloud" his home with his family.

In 2020, Gary helped DDB achieve a back-to-back win across the region by winning Campaign’s Agency of the Year and then Agency of the Year at Axis Awards in NZ as well as Australia’s Award in 2020, a feat that had yet to be achieved by DDB. In 2021 he was ranked #2 Executive Creative Director in the world on Best Ads Global rankings as well as helped take DDB to the #1 Creatively ranked agency on Campaign Briefs global rankings.

This was just the beginning, and in 2022 he continued the success by helping DDB take home the coveted D&AD Black Pencil, the only 2nd Black Pencil ever awarded to an NZ agency and a career highlight.

Following this success, DDB New Zealand was also recognized as New Zealand’s Agency Of The Year at the Spikes Festival and Axis Awards for 4 years in a row, achieving another personal goal on his extensive to-do list.

But if you ask Gary what drives him, he will tell you He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata, the people, the people, the people. Those he has worked with and helped grow into the great creative people they are today, without whom Gary would not have this bio or any of these accolades to talk about.

2024 is a decisive year for digital marketers. Until now, cookies have been the connective tissue in the adtech ecosystem. So, how, then, should a digital marketer navigate this new landscape deprived of the third-party cookie?

We have invited a panel of industry experts to give us some clarity about what cookie deprecation means – and what life will be like for brands in a post-cookie world. 

They will examine what other levers such as AI and ML that marketers can pull to understand online customer behaviour, target and personalise their digital marketing, and understand ROI.  

• This is your chance to get answers to your questions!
• How will the digital marketing industry adapt and innovate? 
• How to think about first-, second-, and third-party data in 2024 and beyond  
• How to harness and fuel AI’s power with other forms of data 
• Who will be the new stars in the race for personalisation? 
• What will happen to programmatic advertising? 
• Remarketing - not the end, the beginning  
• Can Google’s Privacy Sandbox fill the void?  
• Understand the new APIs and the impact of Tracking Prevention features

About Travena

Travena is a senior marketing professional who has had over 15+ years of experience. She has been involved in a range of MarTech implementation that has been complex within large enterprises. She has worked directly on solution builds as well as implementing strategies that are centred around the three P’s - People/ Platform/ Process.

2024 is a decisive year for digital marketers. Until now, cookies have been the connective tissue in the adtech ecosystem. So, how, then, should a digital marketer navigate this new landscape deprived of the third-party cookie?

We have invited a panel of industry experts to give us some clarity about what cookie deprecation means – and what life will be like for brands in a post-cookie world. 

They will examine what other levers such as AI and ML that marketers can pull to understand online customer behaviour, target and personalise their digital marketing, and understand ROI.  

• This is your chance to get answers to your questions!
• How will the digital marketing industry adapt and innovate? 
• How to think about first-, second-, and third-party data in 2024 and beyond  
• How to harness and fuel AI’s power with other forms of data 
• Who will be the new stars in the race for personalisation? 
• What will happen to programmatic advertising? 
• Remarketing - not the end, the beginning  
• Can Google’s Privacy Sandbox fill the void?  
• Understand the new APIs and the impact of Tracking Prevention features

About Christopher

The digital world has supercharged innovation, but it has also supercharged judgement and criticism. Marketers have never faced a more unforgiving environment for their communications. We’ll discuss a few cautionary tales and best practices when the fear of backlash can cause paralysis even when writing a simple blurb like this.

About Mike

Mike Felix is the joint Chief Creative Officer of dentsu Aotearoa. He has been ranked in the top 30 Creative Directors in the world by the Big Won Report(2019) and D&AD (2022). Notable work includes four of New Zealand Lotto’s popular Imagine commercials as well as digital projects like Steinlager’s Fight For Territory, Re:scam for Netsafe and Samsung iTest – which was presented at DDO 2022 after winning New Zealand’s second only D&AD Black Pencil and evolving into Try Galaxy, Samsung’s global switching platform.

Consumers are turning to AI chatbots for instant, conversational answers. A whopping 56% of AI users in Australia say they have already replaced traditional search engines with gen AI tools. This trend represents a fundamental change in the way information is sought and consumed, potentially reshaping the landscape of digital search and SEO metrics.

In this keynote presentation from leading New Zealand SEO experts, Pure SEO, we look at the way generative search platforms are changing how way marketers optimise content for search engines. Find out how AI is reshaping SEO through advanced keyword research, content strategies, SERP analysis, and more.

• Challenges and opportunities for marketers
• How to rank highly in GenAI searches
• The difference between GenAI and traditional search results and what it means for your brand
• Adapting and enhancing existing content
• Will websites become obsolete?
• From SEO to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

About Vasilios

Vasilios Kostidis is a seasoned Senior Account Manager at PureSEO, where he spearheads digital marketing strategies encompassing SEO, SEM, CRO, social media marketing, and content creation. He has a proven track record of navigating diverse verticals and executing complex digital projects, and is immersed in the new world of search, using cutting-edge AI.

Beyond his endeavours at PureSEO, Vasilios is also an entrepreneur with his own side hustle, generating online leads through a meticulous SEO strategy coupled with a technical understanding of web development, local SEO and content.

Prior to his role at PureSEO, Vasilios honed his craft as a digital freelancer while pursuing his second Bachelor’s degree in Arts, specialising in Acting. He is a professional actor and will bring his passion for storytelling and charisma to the DDO stage.

Nobody wants to hear a brand speak. Perhaps unless you’re Nike. We want to hear from people. Social media is a place we go to be our authentic selves, to find human connections and authenticity. But in 2024, it’s also a place full of AI generated imagery, content and influencers.

We have invited a panel of digital and social media experts for an honest discussion of brands on social. Are they worried about AI blurring the lines between authentic and synthetic and putting people of social? What are they keeping an eye on right now? And what are their predictions for what’s to come? There’s a lot to uncover as we dive into the biggest social media trends.

• Who are nailing the trends right now?
• “I just came for the comments” – how brands can be part of the conversation?
• Engagement and Talkability - what are people responding to?
• The TikTok-ification of social: entertainment, video, and high-speed content
• Synthetic Influencers – creepy or cool?
• Could AI end up narrowing content diversity?
• What does authenticity and human connection look like in 2024?

About Melanie

Melanie has had nearly 20 years’ experience as a senior marketer in Sydney and Auckland with heavyweight clients in retail, property, banking, FMCG, food & beverage, aviation and fashion. Socialites help organisations thrive in this dynamic digital world and do this by using social media to bring a brand’s DNA to life, creating loyal customers, communities and driving commercial outcomes. 

Nobody wants to hear a brand speak. Perhaps unless you’re Nike. We want to hear from people. Social media is a place we go to be our authentic selves, to find human connections and authenticity. But in 2024, it’s also a place full of AI generated imagery, content and influencers.

We have invited a panel of digital and social media experts for an honest discussion of brands on social. Are they worried about AI blurring the lines between authentic and synthetic and putting people of social? What are they keeping an eye on right now? And what are their predictions for what’s to come? There’s a lot to uncover as we dive into the biggest social media trends.

• Who are nailing the trends right now?
• “I just came for the comments” – how brands can be part of the conversation?
• Engagement and Talkability - what are people responding to?
• The TikTok-ification of social: entertainment, video, and high-speed content
• Synthetic Influencers – creepy or cool?
• Could AI end up narrowing content diversity?
• What does authenticity and human connection look like in 2024?

About Glenn

With a background in strategy, marketing, and sales spanning aviation, auto, and sport, GH is big on putting fans at the heart of the action through engagement, entertainment, and enchantment as the catalyst for turning brand power into star power.

2024 is a decisive year for digital marketers. Until now, cookies have been the connective tissue in the adtech ecosystem. So, how, then, should a digital marketer navigate this new landscape deprived of the third-party cookie?

We have invited a panel of industry experts to give us some clarity about what cookie deprecation means – and what life will be like for brands in a post-cookie world. 

They will examine what other levers such as AI and ML that marketers can pull to understand online customer behaviour, target and personalise their digital marketing, and understand ROI.  

• This is your chance to get answers to your questions!
• How will the digital marketing industry adapt and innovate? 
• How to think about first-, second-, and third-party data in 2024 and beyond  
• How to harness and fuel AI’s power with other forms of data 
• Who will be the new stars in the race for personalisation? 
• What will happen to programmatic advertising? 
• Remarketing - not the end, the beginning  
• Can Google’s Privacy Sandbox fill the void?  
• Understand the new APIs and the impact of Tracking Prevention features

About Rachel

Nobody wants to hear a brand speak. Perhaps unless you’re Nike. We want to hear from people. Social media is a place we go to be our authentic selves, to find human connections and authenticity. But in 2024, it’s also a place full of AI generated imagery, content and influencers.

We have invited a panel of digital and social media experts for an honest discussion of brands on social. Are they worried about AI blurring the lines between authentic and synthetic and putting people of social? What are they keeping an eye on right now? And what are their predictions for what’s to come? There’s a lot to uncover as we dive into the biggest social media trends.

• Who are nailing the trends right now?
• “I just came for the comments” – how brands can be part of the conversation?
• Engagement and Talkability - what are people responding to?
• The TikTok-ification of social: entertainment, video, and high-speed content
• Synthetic Influencers – creepy or cool?
• Could AI end up narrowing content diversity?
• What does authenticity and human connection look like in 2024?

About Symone

Symone Tafuna'i is a New Zealand sprinter, RNZ Sports Reporter, and awe-inspiring content creator collaborating with her talent agency, People of Influence. Her content ranges from "day in the life" and "get ready with me" vlogs and segments, but also includes emotion-provoking reflections on her mental health journey. Symmy openly shares messages with her therapist and daily goals to combat her social anxiety alongside her fit checks, portraying her struggles authentically. Her humanising content fosters a safe and humble space for herself and her community, where she genuinely connects with her audience.

2024 is a decisive year for digital marketers. Until now, cookies have been the connective tissue in the adtech ecosystem. So, how, then, should a digital marketer navigate this new landscape deprived of the third-party cookie?

We have invited a panel of industry experts to give us some clarity about what cookie deprecation means – and what life will be like for brands in a post-cookie world. 

They will examine what other levers such as AI and ML that marketers can pull to understand online customer behaviour, target and personalise their digital marketing, and understand ROI.  

• This is your chance to get answers to your questions!
• How will the digital marketing industry adapt and innovate? 
• How to think about first-, second-, and third-party data in 2024 and beyond  
• How to harness and fuel AI’s power with other forms of data 
• Who will be the new stars in the race for personalisation? 
• What will happen to programmatic advertising? 
• Remarketing - not the end, the beginning  
• Can Google’s Privacy Sandbox fill the void?  
• Understand the new APIs and the impact of Tracking Prevention features

About Andrew

The Global Paid Search Lead at Xero with over ten years experience in digital marketing, Andrew develops and executes data-driven digital strategy to deliver enterprise level growth across global markets.

Throughout his career Andrew has developed expertise in various digital performance areas such as search engine marketing & optimisation, conversion rate optimisation, data-sharing and compliance, user experience design and testing, split testing and experimentation, audience segmentation and strategy, and creative optimisation. He also builds new capabilities, develops and shares knowledge, nurtures upcoming talent, and maintains a commitment to stay on the cutting edge of the industry.

2024 is a decisive year for digital marketers. Until now, cookies have been the connective tissue in the adtech ecosystem. So, how, then, should a digital marketer navigate this new landscape deprived of the third-party cookie?

We have invited a panel of industry experts to give us some clarity about what cookie deprecation means – and what life will be like for brands in a post-cookie world. 

They will examine what other levers such as AI and ML that marketers can pull to understand online customer behaviour, target and personalise their digital marketing, and understand ROI.  

• This is your chance to get answers to your questions!
• How will the digital marketing industry adapt and innovate? 
• How to think about first-, second-, and third-party data in 2024 and beyond  
• How to harness and fuel AI’s power with other forms of data 
• Who will be the new stars in the race for personalisation? 
• What will happen to programmatic advertising? 
• Remarketing - not the end, the beginning  
• Can Google’s Privacy Sandbox fill the void?  
• Understand the new APIs and the impact of Tracking Prevention features

About Adnan

Adnan Khan is a seasoned expert in advertising and marketing technology, specialising in driving marketing transformation for top global brands. With a 15-year career, Adnan has held key roles at tech giants like Meta, where he founded the New Zealand office and was among the first four APAC employees in Sydney. Prior to Meta, he worked at Microsoft Australia. 

As the Co-Founder of Stitch, Adnan empowers brands to transform customer experience by creating a single, unified view of their customers. With this consolidated perspective, Stitch enables personalisation at scale, delivering the right message at the right time on the right platform, driving double-digit growth. His work at Stitch has earned him 3 TVNZ Marketing Awards and 2 Gold Effie Awards. 

Adnan also serves as Chair of the Digital Special Interest Group for the Marketing Association, dedicated to expanding understanding and value gained from best practice digital marketing strategies.

Nobody wants to hear a brand speak. Perhaps unless you’re Nike. We want to hear from people. Social media is a place we go to be our authentic selves, to find human connections and authenticity. But in 2024, it’s also a place full of AI generated imagery, content and influencers.

We have invited a panel of digital and social media experts for an honest discussion of brands on social. Are they worried about AI blurring the lines between authentic and synthetic and putting people of social? What are they keeping an eye on right now? And what are their predictions for what’s to come? There’s a lot to uncover as we dive into the biggest social media trends.

• Who are nailing the trends right now?
• “I just came for the comments” – how brands can be part of the conversation?
• Engagement and Talkability - what are people responding to?
• The TikTok-ification of social: entertainment, video, and high-speed content
• Synthetic Influencers – creepy or cool?
• Could AI end up narrowing content diversity?
• What does authenticity and human connection look like in 2024?

About Zania

As a prominent figure in New Zealand's digital and social media marketing landscape, Zania is dedicated to transforming the online presence of businesses across industries to build thriving brands. She proudly serves on the Marketing Association Digital SIG committee, leads her digital and social media consultancy, Zaniaguy.com, and hosts the popular business podcast "Marketing Masters - The Art and Science of Modern Marketing." In her consultancy, she leverages AI-powered tools to help businesses succeed faster and more efficiently.

Zania has specialised in digital marketing her entire career, including 4.5 transformative years leading New World's digital and social marketing. She not only met KPIs but soared past them, cultivating a buzzing foodie community across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and propelling their social conversations from 400 to 40,000 a month. Beyond driving social engagement, she contributed to all campaigns by building seamless customer experiences across all digital touchpoints and was a key contributor to driving sales.

Her journey has allowed her to work with industry leaders and loved brands like Bluebells Cakery, Colliers, New World, Vodafone NZ (now One NZ), Les Mills International, and The Salvation Army among others. Zania’s career also spans a decade in the UK, where she honed her digital skills with prestigious companies such as Phaidon Press International and The Engine Group crafting and executing digital marketing and social media strategies that delivered results.

A passionate and creative problem-solver, she thrives on collaborating with clients and teams to drive business growth and foster enduring brand loyalty.